LAHORE: Five senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders, currently imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat jail, have slammed the proposal to raise the voting age from 18 to 25, branding it a “desperate attempt to suppress voices of the youth” and “a clear sign of fearing the power of informed conscience”.

In a letter sent through their advocate on Wednesday, jailed leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Omar Sarfraz Cheema asked whether those operating in the dark were afraid of youth power.

There is an emerging political discussion in the country about raising the voting age from 18 to 25. While no formal bill has been tabled yet, the idea is being floated through media commentary, social media narratives, and informal political signaling — a live political narrative with serious democratic implications.

The PTI leaders said Pakistan had seen its first general elections in 1970, where voting age was 21 years. However, at the advent of 21st century the world transformed into a global village and any incident anywhere in the world could be seen in real time.

Five incarcerated leaders term move a desperate attempt to suppress voice

At this time, the PTI leaders said, Pakistan too realised that the voter age limit should be reduced from 21 years to 18 years. And no segment of society objected to it, they added.

Since the government has fixed 18 years of age to obtain a national identity card, driving licence and even to get married, they said there was no justification to increase the age limit from 18 to 25.

“Is this mindset suggesting signs of fear from the youth power and distrusting the conscience of youth,” they jointly stated in their letter.

They said a similar election reform of making graduation compulsory to contest elections was made in the past but had to be withdrawn later. They said the youth’s insight, perception, decision-power and collective wisdom was the nation’s asset and it could be used to do wonders in the country.

The jailed leaders warned that the youth would not let the wheel of history move backwards and fight against the ‘fear-driven mindset’.

The PTI leaders expressed the hope that all political parties in the country, particularly PML-N, PPP would not support any fear-driven mindset to suppress youth’s right to vote.

The social media commentators have publicly dismissed the idea, stating it contradicts global democratic practices. Analysts say such a move would amount to disenfranchisement of the youth rather than reform.

The social media users also point out that raising the voting age would require a constitutional amendment, needing a two-thirds majority in parliament — a high legal and political threshold.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2026